16 replies to this topic

[ajl338]

I was wondering if I was normal.

I have been using my chair for about 18 months, I have a really low incomplete injury L2 but my body has changed shape lots. I have gone up two sizes in my trousers as my waist has got bigger. I dont eat a lot and I do a lot of exercise, I am swimming regularly and skiing every week as well as an active job.

I am also having issues with food and energy. If i eat I then feel really lethargic and have a headache and feel a bit sick. If I dont eat I seem to have enough energy to buzz through the day, but obviously not eating cant be done for very long with nasty effects. If i dont eat for too long I get grumpy and also feel rubbish.

I was wondering if it was normal to put on inches round the waist when becomming a chair user and if it is possible that your body finds it harder to digest food if you are sitting down?

ann

[Astack23]

I think the injury has an affect on your digestion. I know when I first got out of the hospital I used to feel bloated a lot. I can relate to not wanting to eat that much. I think every body is different. As far as weight gain I think a lot of people experience some weight gain after entering the chair.

[Tetracyclone]

Yes, same problems.

[goose]

Unfortunately, the waist seems to take the biggest hit. I think we lose core muscles which hold in all the internal organs. This loss results in an unsightly tummy. I've always been real careful with my meals but I definitely don't have my tiny waist any more. Clothes just look sloppier sitting down. Vanity..what can I say.

[nomis]

 ajl338, on 26 May 2011 - 06:22 PM, said:

I was wondering if it was normal to put on inches round the waist when becomming a chair user and if it is possible that your body finds it harder to digest food if you are sitting down?

ann

Not sure why you're putting on weight around the middle with all your activity. At your injury level your abdominals are all innovated and working. Maybe it comes down to your eating habits. If you are eating irregularly then your body may be getting the message to store for lean times and/or you may be eating too much of something fattening.

Chair-users are resting much of their body even when involved in activity so we don't need so much food/fuel. But we do need quality to keep our bodies in good repair like getting all our vitamins and minerals. More vegetables and less sugar, meat, bread and cakes. Eating less but often also works for many.

Edited by nomis, 27 May 2011 - 08:53 AM.

[Stand]

 goose, on 27 May 2011 - 02:22 AM, said:

Unfortunately, the waist seems to take the biggest hit. I think we lose core muscles which hold in all the internal organs. This loss results in an unsightly tummy. I've always been real careful with my meals but I definitely don't have my tiny waist any more. Clothes just look sloppier sitting down. Vanity..what can I say.

Definitely true about the core muscles holding in the internal organs. I wear an abdominal binder not only for high blood pressure prevention, but also to keep everything inside in the somewhat appropriate areas. This will help someone with a higher level injury like myself from developing a ''quad belly''.

[Edinburgh Colin]

I have a similar problem, I am 25 months post injury and was not even hungry for 2 years! Also I think as the big muscles around that area - your thighs, gluts (bum) etc loose their tone then things "spread" so it's a going to happen.
As mentioned your core should be OK so some exercises for your abbs and waist/lower back may help to hold things together.
Don't fret as most people will look at your face, upper body given that you are so much lower down so a big smile and nobody will even notice!!!!
EC

[mk78]

I have started to get a belly since my injury 18 months ago, its so weird cause I have always been super thin. I always wanted to gain weight, I'm just worried ill keep getting bigger. I eat more now than I use to but that's probably cause of boredom and not being overly active.

[tsh3406]

Sitting all the time also causes your hips/pelvis to spread or rotate outward after a while, making you apprear bigger. If you are actually documenting weight gain on a scale, maybe you metabilism or chemical balance hase changed? Do you drink enough? I weigh around 215, and my weight can increase several pounds if I've gone a few days without enough water. Then after flushin' things out, it goes back down. Some medications list weight gain or loss as a side effect, any of those?

[A trophy guy]

Ahhh, the trials and tribulations of spinal-cord injury-induced body change and weight gain. I think it hits everyone who uses a chair.

I was paralyzed at the age of 20. I was always a small, lean, quick guy who never paid any real attention to what he ate. I could just eat whatever, whenever and I'd never see any weight change-one way or another.

Well once I had my accident and became paralyzed, I continued with the same eating habits and general lifestyle; and quickly put on the pounds. I had chipmunk cheeks and a most unsightly belly (and I have control of my abs, so I have no excuse there). It only took maybe 3 or 4 months for my body to significantly change.

It was at that point that my slow evolution started. I became determined to lose the weight, and in doing so became interested in learning more about what happens to the body after a spinal cord injury, physically, metabolically, etc. Because it proved to be very difficult to get those pounds to budge at all when I first began my quest to lose them.

What started as physical therapy at a medically-based fitness center soon became my own workout center; which I used enthusiastically in an effort to build muscle and get stronger. In the process, I learned alot about my body and how things can be modified to work with it that initially appear to be off limits. As the years passed I grew more and more dedicated to my workouts until 2007, when I finally entered my first wheelchair bodybuilding competition. This was down in Florida (U.S.A.). I won, and I've competed three times since; with the highlight being taking the first place trophy in the lightweight division in the Wheelchair Nationals in 2009.

I say all this because it was those issues with my body and how much control I still had which led me on the path I am today. I could have let those problems grow and take me in a much different path, I see the path I chose as a positive one; mentally and physically.

[brockit79]

Hey Trophy Guy,

Thanks for this; I too want to get as fit as I can be in order to participate competitively in sports; it is my focus now while I am currently incapacitated.

My issue at the moment is that I want to come off medication completely; I've tried before but didn't succeed; were you on any nerve pain meds? if so how did you come off them?

Thanks,
Broc

[A trophy guy]

 brockit79, on 26 October 2011 - 07:28 AM, said:

Hey Trophy Guy,

Thanks for this; I too want to get as fit as I can be in order to participate competitively in sports; it is my focus now while I am currently incapacitated.

My issue at the moment is that I want to come off medication completely; I've tried before but didn't succeed; were you on any nerve pain meds? if so how did you come off them?

Thanks,
Broc

Yes, I was on amytriptyline (sp?), neurontin, and others. I hated all of those nerve meds with a passion. I didn't even know why I was on them, they didn't do anything noticeable for me. Anything positive, anyway. I sure did gain weight on them, though.

Through the course of finding the right doctor(s) and properly titrating off the medications, I was able to come off the nerve meds without any real problems. I should say, however, that I wasn't really dependent on them in the first place for any real substantial reason. I feel like I was given these medications as sort of a "catch-all", "cover all the bases" sort of precaution.

[brockit79]

 A trophy guy, on 26 October 2011 - 05:51 PM, said:

 brockit79, on 26 October 2011 - 07:28 AM, said:

Hey Trophy Guy,

Thanks for this; I too want to get as fit as I can be in order to participate competitively in sports; it is my focus now while I am currently incapacitated.

My issue at the moment is that I want to come off medication completely; I've tried before but didn't succeed; were you on any nerve pain meds? if so how did you come off them?

Thanks,
Broc

Yes, I was on amytriptyline (sp?), neurontin, and others. I hated all of those nerve meds with a passion. I didn't even know why I was on them, they didn't do anything noticeable for me. Anything positive, anyway. I sure did gain weight on them, though.

Through the course of finding the right doctor(s) and properly titrating off the medications, I was able to come off the nerve meds without any real problems. I should say, however, that I wasn't really dependent on them in the first place for any real substantial reason. I feel like I was given these medications as sort of a "catch-all", "cover all the bases" sort of precaution.

I fear that I am becoming dependent on these drugs as I always know when it is ami' time. My body tells me. They numb the brain, that is how they work but they do seem to do the trick and give me some relief when I have strong nerve pain

[Ragadeyanne69]

[quote name='ajl338' timestamp='1306434134' post='231157']
I was wondering if I was normal.

I have been using my chair for about 18 months, I have a really low incomplete injury L2 but my body has changed shape lots. I have gone up two sizes in my trousers as my waist has got bigger. I dont eat a lot and I do a lot of exercise, I am swimming regularly and skiing every week as well as an active job.

I am also having issues with food and energy. If i eat I then feel really lethargic and have a headache and feel a bit sick. If I dont eat I seem to have enough energy to buzz through the day, but obviously not eating cant be done for very long with nasty effects. If i dont eat for too long I get grumpy and also feel rubbish.

I was wondering if it was normal to put on inches round the waist when becomming a chair user and if it is possible that your body finds it harder to digest food if you are sitting down?


ann
[/quote

The same has happened to me except I've been in a chair for ten yrs. an last yr i finally afforded to get a new chair. thing is if i carry on like this 3grand will be wasted. An newest thing is my bowels are blocked 5ft of blockage tried to blast is out Movocol Senna the lot an look 7months pregnant. i hate it Anyone got any advice for me an Ann. xxx also so bloated i back flow lots hate it...

[Priority Seatin]

I've always had a bit of a belly so I didn't notice any changes there. ;)

However, I wonder if anyone else has experienced this -- my butt shrunk.

I used to have a pretty big and bulgy butt (think Rikishi from pro wrestling, except skinnier) but since my SCI, it's reduced to a... well, a regular-sized butt (which is kind of tiny compared to before).

Can butt muscles atrophy too?!

[A trophy guy]

 Priority Seatin, on 20 November 2011 - 01:58 AM, said:

I've always had a bit of a belly so I didn't notice any changes there. ;)

However, I wonder if anyone else has experienced this -- my butt shrunk.

I used to have a pretty big and bulgy butt (think Rikishi from pro wrestling, except skinnier) but since my SCI, it's reduced to a... well, a regular-sized butt (which is kind of tiny compared to before).

Can butt muscles atrophy too?!

Ha! Um...yes. Absolutely. I haven't had an ass in over a decade.

[Dean1978]

do you do any workouts at all. This might help with your digestion and energy probably. I'm a C-6 and i wheel a mile a day and do a cardio workout. I don't have a problem with eating or digetion